Wake, awake for night is flying. In 1597 the Westphalian village where pastor Philipp Nicolai (1556-11608) lived experienced a terrible pestilence, which claimed some thirteen hundred lives in his parish alone. Nicolai turned from the constant tragedies and frequent funerals (at times he buried thirty people in one day) to meditate on “the noble, sublime doctrine of eternal life obtained through the blood of Christ.” As he said, “This I allowed to dwell in my heart day and night and searched the Scriptures as to what they revealed on this matter.” Nicolai also read Augustine’s City of God before he wrote this great Advent text and arranged its tune.

The original German text (“Wachet auf! ruft uns die Stimme”) and tune were published in Nicolai’s collection of devotional poetry, Frewden-Spiegel dess ewigen Lebens (1599), with a title that read “Of the Voice at Midnight and the Wise Virgins who meet their Heavenly Bridegroom.” Catherine Winkworth’s English translation was published in her Lyra Germanica (1858).

The parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13) was the inspiration for stanzas 1 and 2, and John’s visions of the glory of Christ and the new Jerusalem (Rev. 19, 21, and 22) provide the basis for stanza 3.

Rorate mass

O Savior, rend the heavens wide is based on a verse in the Vulgate version of the Book of Isaiah: “Rorate coeli de super, et nubes pluant justum: aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem”- “Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One. Let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior.” The first verse is related to another verse, Isaiah 64:1: “O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence.”

O Savior, rend the heavens wide;
Come down, come down with mighty stride;
Unlock the gates, the doors break down;
Unbar the way to heaven’s crown.

O Father, light from heaven send;
As morning dew, O Son, descend.
Drop down, ye clouds, the life of spring:
To Jacob’s line rain down the King.

Friedrich von Spee (1591-1635) was educated in the Jesuit gymnasium at Cologne, entered the order of the Jesuits there on Sept. 22, 1610, and was ordained priest about 1621. From 1613 to 1624 he was one of the tutors in the Jesuit college at Cologne, and was then sent to Paderborn to assist in the Counter Reformation. In 1627 he was summoned by the Bishop of Würzburg to act as confessor to persons accused of witchcraft, and, within two years, had to accompany to the stake some 200 persons, of all ranks and ages, in whose innocence he himself firmly believed (His Cautio criminalis, seu de processibus contra sagas, Rinteln, 1631, was the means of almost putting a stop to such cruelties). He was then sent to further the Counter Reformation at Peine near Hildesheim, but on April 29, 1629, he was nearly murdered by some persons from Hildesheim. In 1631 he became professor of Moral Theology at Cologne. The last years of his life were spent at Trier, where, after the city had been stormed by the Spanish troops on May 6, 1635, he contracted a fever from some of the hospital patients to whom he was ministering, and died there Aug. 7, 1635.

Spee was the first important writer of sacred poetry that had appeared in the German Roman Catholic Church since the Reformation. Among his contemporaries he was noteworthy for the beauty of his style, and his mastery of rhythm and metre. He seems to have come independently to much the same conclusions regarding measure and accent, and the reform of German prosody as did Opitz. His poems are characterised by a very keen love for the works of God in the natural world, and a delight in all the sights and sounds of the country, especially in spring and summer; and at the same time by a deep and fervent love to God, to Christ, and to his fellowmen. On the other hand his mannerisms are very pronounced; the pastoral imagery and dialogue which he is fond of using jar upon modern ears when used on such serious subjects as the Agony in Gethsemane. In the hymns to Jesus he is too subjective and sentimental, and works out the idea of Christ as the Bridegroom of the soul with unnecessary detail.

O HEILAND, REISS DIE HIMMEL AUF is a German chorale melody published anonymously in Rheinfelsisches Deutsches Catholisches Gesangbuch (1666 ed.). The tune is in Dorian mode and exhibits two main rhythmic patterns within its four lines.

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Visigothic manuscript

Lo, He comes with clouds descending was written by John Cennick (1718-1755) and extensively revised by Charles Wesley (1707-1788).

Here is the text in the 1940 Hymnal. Although its astringency has made it unpopular, it has been toned down from Wesley’s version.

Lo! he comes, with clouds descending,
Once for our salvation slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of his train:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Christ, the Lord, returns to reign.

Ev’ry eye shall now behold him,
Robed in dreadful majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold him,
Pierced, and nailed him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing
Shall the true Messiah see.

3 Those dear tokens of his passion
Still his dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation
To his ransomed worshipers:
With what rapture, with what rapture,
Gaze we on those glorious scars!

4 Yea, Amen! let all adore thee,
High on thine eternal throne:
Saviour, take the power and glory;
Claim the kingdoms for thine own:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and Thou alone!

“He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly.” This sentiment of Mary’s, who gave voice to the poor and oppressed of the earth, was emphasized in Wesley’s version, which is the subject of this analysis:

Looking forward to the coming of Christ at the end of this age ought to remind us how desperately we need a savior—and how immense and earth-shattering is the good news that God is just and merciful.

The present text of the hymn has undergone a few redactions since first being penned by John Cennick, a land surveyor turned preacher and Moravian evangelist. Cennick was an acquaintance of the Wesley brothers and this quite probably accounts for Charles Wesley’s knowledge of the hymn. The most common version of the text is Wesley’s and it is the version followed below. However, the comparison of Cennick’s version with Wesley’s is interesting as it brings to light Wesley’s mastery of English and Scripture as he expounds upon and clarifies the nascent themes in Cennick’s version.

Lo! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for favored sinners slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending,
Swell the triumph of His train:
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
God appears on earth to reign.

The theme of the hymn is taken from Revelation 1:7 and begins and ends with an exhortation to look to the coming King, Jesus Christ, and celebrate the blessed and glorious reign of God as the indisputable monarch of all things in heaven and earth.

Every eye shall now behold Him
Robed in dreadful majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see.

It is natural to wonder what sort of King it is that is returning to claim his kingdom and what life will be like under his rule. If He is to be a just and righteous ruler, what will that mean for the wicked men and women? If He is to be a deliverer of His people (a Messiah), what will that mean for the people, institutions, and beliefs and practices that have been holding His people captive? The implication of a just, righteous, and freedom-granting ruler is that injustice, wickedness and bondage will be abolished and done away with: Good news for the captive and the oppressed, bad news for the wicked and the oppressor.

Every island, sea, and mountain,
Heav’n and earth, shall flee away;
All who hate Him must, confounded,
Hear the trump proclaim the day:
Come to judgment! Come to judgment!
Come to judgment! Come away!

Exploring, again, the implications of what is a great comfort to the Christian, but a terror to the ungodly—God’s omniscience and omnipresence—the author forcefully suggests that though heaven and earth would flee from the terrible presence of the just Judge who will open the secret heart of all men; the very men who would most hide themselves from this scrutiny will be compelled to stand before the Judge and give an accounting of their actions. This is justice, the terrible equality of all men before God is such that every man must acknowledge his responsibility for his deeds. The bribes of the wealthy, the words of the crafty, and the intimidation and power of the torturer are all as nothing in face of the just King.

Now redemption, long expected,
See in solemn pomp appear;
All His saints, by man rejected,
Now shall meet Him in the air:
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
See the day of God appear!

What then do we have to hope for? If the secrets of all men be made known on the Day of Judgement, then surely all men will be tried and found wanting. However, the centerpiece of this hymn, and of the Gospel itself, is the very good news that redemption has happened and that justice has been satisfied in such a way that God’s saints might be welcomed into the retinue of the King without lessening His justice in any way. Hallelujah, indeed.

Answer Thine own bride and Spirit,
Hasten, Lord, the general doom!
The new Heav’n and earth t’inherit,
Take Thy pining exiles home:
All creation, all creation,
Travails! groans! and bids Thee come!

Such words sound harsh and unfeeling in a day and age where niceness is one of the cardinal virtues of the land. However, it is wise to keep in mind that if goods such as justice and righteousness are to prevail, they come with a cost: the cost of punishing all that is unjust and evil. There can be no new heaven and new earth unless the old be done away with, there can be no universal reign of perfect goodness and truth unless badness and error are finally and absolutely defeated. The cry of the Church and of God the Spirit is for such perfect state to come where all is peace and harmony and love, where communion between God and man is like the unity shared by the Blessed Trinity. The birth pangs are necessary to bring about new life.

The dear tokens of His passion
Still His dazzling body bears;
Cause of endless exultation
To His ransomed worshippers;
With what rapture, with what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars!

The King bears in His own body the message of the Gospel. That which was done out of hatred, rebellion, and pride has been transformed by Divine Love into the center of adoration and praise for all eternity. The facts of wickedness and evil are acknowledged rather than glossed over, yet they undergo a powerful metamorphosis as their sting is turned into a song.

The exhortation to look for the coming King in the first verse modulates into an invocation of that same King in the last. The great and terrible fact of the Second Coming provides the impetus for the action of prayer among His people—given the nature of the King and veracity of His promise, it behooves His people to act with a faith that gives expression to their knowledge of Him.

Drop down ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: Let the earth open and bring forth a Saviour. Lord, thou hast blessed thy land: Thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, amen.

Immortal, Invisible, God only wise by William Chalmers Smith is a proclamation of the transcendence of God: “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever” (1 Tim 17). No man has ever seen God, who dwells in inaccessible light that is darkness to mortal eyes. God lacks nothing (nor wanting) and never changes (nor wasting), and is undying, unlike mortals, who in a striking image “blossom and flourish like leaves on the tree, then wither and perish.” The original ending of the hymn completes the thought: “And so let Thy glory, almighty, impart, / Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.” “No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known” (John 1:18). Only in Jesus through the proclamation of the Gospel can we know the Father.

Walter Chalmers Smith D. D. (1824-1908) was educated at the Grammar School and University of that City. He pursued his Theological studies at Edinburgh, and was ordained Pastor of the Scottish Church in Chadwell Street, Islington, London, in 1850. After holding several pastorates he became, in 1876, Minister of the Free High Church, Edinburgh. The Free Church of Scotland elected him its moderator during its Jubilee year in 1893.

Although Dr. Smith’s work has a claim to a place among that of the general poets, there is a certain fitness in his being placed among the sacred poets, since the strongest force in his poetry is the religious one, so that, even in what may be called his secular poetry, the most vital parts grow out of his theologic thought or religious feeling. In this respect he is like the other poet of Aberdeenshire, George MacDonald, who says himself, that he would not care either to write poetry or tell stories if he could not preach in them—but then there is preaching and preaching; and if all preaching were of the living sort we get from these two Aberdonians, the name would carry a higher meaning than it usually does.” (William Horder)

Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes, most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light, nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might: thy justice, like mountains high soaring above, thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life thou givest, to both great and small; in all life thou livest, the true life of all; we blossom and flourish like leaves on the tree, then wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.

Thou reignest in glory, thou dwellest in light, thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight; all praise we would render; O help us to see ’tis only the splendor of light hideth thee!

The final stanzas have been somewhat altered from the original:

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light, Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight; Of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart Take the veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.

All laud we would render; O help us to see ’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee, And so let Thy glory, almighty, impart, Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.

John Roberts, in Welsh Ieuan Gwyllt (1822-1877), composed the tune ST. DENIO (also known as JOANNA, or PALESTINA). It is derived from a Welsh folk song Can Mlynned i ‘nawr’ (“A Hundred Years from Now”). This version appeared in his Canaidau y Cyssegr (Songs of Worship) of 1839. The melody was first harmonized to, adapted for, and used with Smith’s words in The English Hymnal of 1905-1906, edited by Gustav Theodore Holst (1874-1934). Roberts was a leader in the revival of Welsh choral song.

This hymn was sung in Westminster Abbey, London, England, at the 2002 funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. It is Prince Charles’s favorite hymn and was sung at his wedding to Camilla. Here it is sung at a memorial service for the victims of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and on the Pentagon in Washington from St Paul’s Cathedral, 14th September 2001.

As Librarian of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Christopher de Hamel has charge of The Gospels of St. Augustine, the very manuscript that Pope Gregory the Great (540—604) gave to St. Augustine of Canterbury (543—604) to take to England. De Hamel carried it in the procession of the enthronement of Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury in 2003.

Rowan Williams venerating the Gospel Book of St. Augustine

In his book, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, de Hamel recounts:

“I had to enter the cathedral that day through the west door, joining the procession just as they began singing the first hymn, ‘immortal, invisible, God only wise,’ a Welsh tune in homage to the nationality of the new primate. I was holding the Gospels of St. Augustine open of a cushion. It was secured by two ribbons of transparent conservation tape. Upwards of 2,500 people singing a familiar hymn very loudly in an enclosed stone building makes the air vibrate. This is the nature of sound waves. The parchment leaves of the manuscript, as we saw earlier, are extremely fine and of tissue thinness, and they picked up the vibrations and they hummed and fluttered in time to the music. At that moment it was as if the sixth-century manuscript on its cushion had come to life and was taking part in the service.”

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Jesus, lead the way is a translation by the Episcopal clergyman Arthur W. Fandlander of the German hymn Jesu, geh’ voran, written by Nicolas Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf. It is a simple prayer for help in the difficulties and pains of life, and a reminder that the way of the cross leads home to God.

Nicolas Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf

The tune SEELENBRÄUTIGAM (The Bridegroom of the soul) is by Adam Drese (1620—1701). In 1697 he wrote Seelenbräutigam, Jesus, Gottes lamm. In 1721 Von Zinzendorf wrote Seelenbräutigam, o du Gottes Lamm, and set it to Drese’s melody, thereby leading to a confusion between the two hymns. Von Zinzendorf later wrote Jesu, geh voran, which is set to Drese’s tune, and it is a translation of this hymn that we use in the 1940 Hymnal.

Arthur William Farlander

The version in the 1940 Hymnal is the translation by Arthur William Farlander (1898—1952). Farlander was born in Germany. Sometime in his early life he moved to the United States and was confirmed as an Episcopalian in the 1920s. He was ordained in 1927. He was rector of a church in San Francisco, dean of St James Cathedral in Fresno, and later rector of churches in Santa Clara and Santa Rosa. He was on the twenty-four member committee which produced the 1940 Hymnal for which he helped translate six texts. He was a pioneer in Episcopal radio ministry.

Drese was at first musician at the court of Duke Wilhelm, of Sachse-Weimar; and after being sent by the Duke for further training under Marco Sacchi at Warsaw, was appointed his Kapellmeister in 1655. On the Duke’s death in 1662, his son, Duke Bernhard, took Drese with him to Jena, appointed him his secretary, and, in 1672, Town Mayor. After Duke Bernhard’s death, in 1678, Drese remained in Jena till 1683, when he was appointed Kapellmeister at Arnstadt to Prince Anton Günther of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, who required Drese to put aside secular music and concentrate on Pietist compositions. He died at Arnstadt shortly before J. S. Bach came there.

Jesus, led the way Through our life’s long long day, And with faithful footsteps steady, We will follow, ever ready; Guide us by Thy hand To our fatherland. Should our lot be hard, Keep us on our guard; Even through severest trial Make us brave in self-denial Transient pain may be, But a way to Thee.

When we need relief, From an inner grief, Or when evils come alluring Make us patient and enduring: Let us follow still Thy most holy will.

Order thou our ways, When we need relief, From an inner grief, Or when evils come alluring Make us patient and enduring: Let us follow still Thy most holy will.

Saviour, all our days: Order thou our ways, When we need relief, From an inner grief, Or when evils come alluring Make us patient and enduring: Let us follow still Thy most holy will.

Schleiermacher also wrote a short hymn for this melody: Dienen Frieden gieb.

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Charles Wesley

O for a thousand tongues to sing was written by Charles Wesley on the first anniversary of his conversion. In in May, 1738, he was suffering severely from pleurisy while he and his brother were studying under the Moravian scholar Peter Boehler in London. At the time, Wesley was plagued by extreme doubts about his faith. Taken to bed with the sickness, on May 21 Wesley was attended by a group of Christians who offered him testimony and basic care, and he was deeply affected by this. He read from his Bible and found himself deeply affected by the words, and at peace with God. Shortly his strength began to return. He wrote of this experience in his journal, and counted it as a renewal of his faith. Charles composed this hymn in 1739. Because of the benefactions that God has made us in creating, redeeming, and sanctifying us, our overwhelming desire should be to praise God in word and deed in gratitude for what He has done, so that all may know of His great deeds.

This is the version we will use:

1 O for a thousand tongues to sing my dear Redeemer’s praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace! 2 Jesus! the name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease; ’tis music in the sinner’s ears, ’tis life and health and peace. 3 He breaks the power of cancelled sin, he sets the prisoner free: his blood can make the foulest clean; his blood availed for me. 4 He speaks; and, listening to his voice, new life the dead receive, the mournful broken hearts rejoice, the humble poor believe. 5 Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb, your loosened tongues employ; ye blind, behold your Saviour come; and leap, ye lame, for joy! 6 My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim and spread through all the earth abroad the honours of thy name.

“May 21, 1738. I waked in expectation of His coming. At nine my brother and some friends came and sang a hymn to the Holy Ghost. My comfort and hope were hereby increased. In about half an hour they went. I betook myself to prayer the substance as follows: O Jesus, thou hast said, I will come unto you; thou hast said, I will send the Comforter unto you. thou hast said, My Father and I will come unto you, and make our abode with you. Thou art my God, who canst not lie. I wholly rely upon thy most true promise: accomplish it in thy time and manner.…Still I felt a violent opposition and reluctance to believe, yet still the Spirit of God strove with my own and the evil spirit till by degrees he chased away the darkness of my unbelief. I found myself convinced, I knew not how or when, and immediately fell to intercession.”

One year from the experience, Wesley was taken with the urge to write another hymn, this one in commemoration of his renewal of faith. This hymn took the form of an 18-stanza poem, beginning with the opening lines ‘Glory to God, and praise, and love,/Be ever, ever given’ and was published in 1740 and entitled ‘For the anniversary day of one’s conversion’. The seventh verse, which begins, ‘O for a thousand tongues to sing’, and which now is invariably the first verse of a shorter hymn, recalls Böhler’s words, ‘Had I a thousand tongues I would praise Him with them all’. The hymn was placed first in John Wesley’s A Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists published in 1780 and has always been the first hymn in every Methodist hymnal since then.

Here are all the original stanzas of the hymn:

1. Glory to God, and praise and love, Be ever, ever given; By saints below and saints above, The Church in earth and heaven. 2. On this glad day the glorious Sun Of righteousness arose, On my benighted soul he shone, And filled it with repose. 3. Sudden expired the legal strife; ‘Twas then I ceased to grieve. My second, real, living life, I then began to live. 4. Then with my heart I first believed, Believed with faith divine; Power with the Holy Ghost received To call the Saviour mine. 5. I felt my Lord’s atoning blood Close to my soul applied; Me, me he loved – the Son of God For me, for me he died! 6. I found and owned his promise true, Ascertained of my part, My pardon passed in heaven I know, When written on my heart. 7. O For a thousand tongues to sing My dear Redeemer’s praise! The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace! 8. My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim, To spread through all the world abroad The honors of Thy name. 9. Jesus! the Name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease; ‘Tis music in the sinner’s ears, ‘Tis life, and health, and peace. 10. He breaks the power of cancell’d sin, He sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood avail’d for me. 11. He speaks, – and, listening to his voice, New life the dead receive; The mournful, broken hearts rejoice; The humble poor believe. 12. Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb, Your loosen’d tongues employ; Ye blind, behold your Saviour come, And leap, ye lame, for joy. 13. Look unto him, ye nations; own Your God, ye fallen race; Look, and be saved through faith alone, Be justified by grace. 14. See all your sins on Jesus laid; The Lamb of God was slain; His soul was once an offering made For every soul of man. 15. Harlots, and publicans, and thieves, In holy triumph join! Saved is the sinner that believes, From crimes as great as mine. 16. Murderers, and all ye hellish crew, Ye sons of lust and pride, Believe the Savior died for you; For me the Saviour died. 17. Awake from guilty nature’s sleep, And Christ shall give you light, Cast all your sins into the deep, And wash the AEthiop white. 18. With me, your chief, ye then shall know, Shall feel your sins forgiven; Anticipate your heaven below, And own that love is heaven.

In the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal, the first hymn is still O for a thousand tongues to sing; it uses verses 7,8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and a slightly altered version of verse 18. The next page has all the verses except verse 17 (not surprisingly). That verse is not racist, but allusion to Jeremiah 13: 23-24:

Can the Ethiopian change his skinor the leopard his spots? Then also you can do goodwho are accustomed to do evil.

The point is that Christ can transform a sinner into a saint.

AZMON was composed by the German composer and conductor Carl Gotthölf Glaser (1784-1829). In 1839 Lowell Mason arranged AZMON as a setting for this hymn. Azmon means “strong,” and is a place on the southern boundary of the Holy Land, apparently near the torrent of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish). (Numbers 34:4,5). Charles Ives used the tune in Symphony No. 3, The Camp Meeting. AZMON and ERIE (What a friend we have in Jesus) are the primary source materials for the first movement, subtitled ‘Old Folks Gatherin’.

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Anthems

In Thee is gladness amid all sadness, Jesus, day-star of my heart! By Thee are given the gifts of heaven, thou the true Redeemer art! Our souls thou wakest; our bonds thou breakest. Who trusts Thee surely has built securely and stands forever: Allelujah! Our hearts are longing to see thy dawning. Living or dying, in thee abiding, naught can us sever: Allelujah!

Jesus is ours! We fear no powers, not of earth or sin or death. He sees and blesses in worst distresses; he can change them with a breath. Wherefore the story – tell of His glory with hearts and voices; all heaven rejoices in him forever: Allelujah! We shout for gladness, triumph o’er sadness, love him and praise him, and still shall raise him glad hymns forever: Allelujah!

The anthem In Thee is gladness is a translation by Catherine Winkworth of Johannes Lindemann’s In dir ist Freude. On Laetare Sunday we pause in our time of penitence to look forward to the joy of Easter. The hymn proclaims that Jesus is the “day-star of my heart,” the source of our hope. The first stanza alludes to Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” . The second stanza draws from Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Even the dance-like character of the music seems to defy the struggles of life because of the hope that Jesus offers to all. Indeed, the hymn concludes with “shout[s] for gladness, triumph o’er sadness . . . [and] voices raising glad hymns forever. Alleluia!”

Catherine Winkworth

Catherine Winkworth (13 September 1827 – 1 July 1878) was born at 20 Ely Place, Holborn, on the edge of the City of London. She was the fourth daughter of Henry Winkworth, a silk merchant. In 1829, her family moved to Manchester, where her father had a silk mill. Winkworth lived most of her early life in this great city, engine of the Industrial Revolution. Winkworth studied under the Rev. William Gaskell, minister of Cross Street Chapel, and with Dr. James Martineau, both of them eminent British Unitarians. She subsequently moved with the family to Clifton, near Bristol. Her sister Susanna Winkworth (1820–1884) was also a translator, mainly of German devotional works. Winkworth translated biographies of two founders of sisterhoods for the poor and the sick: Life of Pastor Fliedner, 1861, and Life of Amelia Sieveking, 1863. She is best known for bringing the German chorale tradition to English speakers with her numerous translations of church hymns, which were published in the Lyra Germanica.

She also worked for wider educational opportunities for girls and in promoting women’s rights, as the secretary of the Clifton Association for Higher Education for Women, and a supporter of the Clifton High School for Girls, where a school house is named after her, and a member of the Cheltenham Ladies’ College. She was likewise governor of the Red Maids’ School in Westbury-on-Trym in the city of Bristol.

According to the Encyclopedia of Britain by Bamber Gascoigne (1993), it was Catherine Winkworth who, learning of General Charles James Napier’s ruthless and unauthorised, but successful campaign to conquer the Indian province of Sindh, “remarked to her teacher that Napier’s despatch to the governor-general of India, after capturing Sindh, should have been Peccavi (Latin for ‘I have sinned’: a pun on ‘I have Sindh’). She sent her joke to the new humorous magazine Punch, which printed it on 18 May 1844. She was then sixteen years old. The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations attributes this to Winkworth, noting that it was attributed to her in Notes and Queries in May 1954.The pun has usually been credited to Napier.] The rumour’s persistence over the decades led to investigations in Calcutta archives, as well as comments by William Lee-Warner in 1917 and Lord Zetland, Secretary for India, in 1936.

Catherine Winkworth died suddenly of heart disease near Geneva on 1 July 1878 and was buried in Monnetier, in Upper Savoy. A monument to her memory was erected in Bristol Cathedral. She is commemorated as a hymn writer with John Mason Neale on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church on 7 August.

Cantor Johann Lindemann (1549-1631), relative of Martin Luther, was a signer of the Lutheran Formula of Concord (1577). Lindemann attended the gymnasium (high school) in Gotha and then studied at the University of Jena. He returned to Gotha, where he served on the council and became a cantor in several churches (1580-1631). He wrote this text to fit the tune by Gastoldi. It was published in Amorum filii Dei decades duae … Zwantzig Weyhenachten Gesenglein … zum Theil unter … Madrigalia und Balletti (Erfurt, 1594, 1596 and 1598), a three-volume anthology of contrafacta of five-part Italian secular pieces. Eight are by Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi, and the Latin title of the collection may perhaps be seen as recalling Gastoldi’s pieces Amor, tu che congiungi and Filli vezzosa e lieta. Lindemann’s uncle, Cyriak Lindemann, probably knew Georg Fabricius, one of the leading hymnologists of the Reformation period, who studied in Italy for four years. Johannes Lindemann’s particular significance is as one of the first to marry the Italian madrigal with the chorale tradition of central Germany and Thuringia. An illustration is afforded by this chorale In dir ist Freude, a contrafactum of Gastoldi’s L’innamorato; it became one of the best-known Protestant chorales.

Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi

The tune IN DIR IST FREUDE, adapted from Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi’s (c. 1554-1609) balletto, “Al­i­eta vi­ta,” in Ba­let­ti a cinque vo­ci. It is characterized as being a “light-hearted, dancelike piece” which contained a fa-la-la (nonsense syllable) refrain. Gastoldi was an Italian priest and composer who had a great influence on several great composers of his era including Claudio Monteverdi, Hans Leo Hassler, and Thomas Morely. The tune was not paired with the text until 1863 when it was published in the Chorale Book for England: A Complete Hymn Book for Public and Private Worship, in accordance with the Services and Festivals of the Church of England under the section heading “Love to the Savior.”

A Digression on Contrafacta

from WPWT

The absence of contrast between ‘secular’ and ‘sacred’ styles of music in the Middle Ages] can be shown simply by the observation that a secular song, if given a set of sacred words, could serve as sacred music, and vice versa. Only recently has it been recognized how frequently such interchange took place, and the more we learn about medieval music, the more important it becomes. The practice of borrowing a song from one sphere and making it suitable for use in the other by the substitution of words is known as “parody” or contrafactum.’

The contrafactum (plural contrafacta) may operate in either direction: to provide pious words to fit a secular song, or profane words to fit a religious song. It may involve ‘parody’ in the literary sense, offering purposeful variations on the words of the original song, but sometimes there may be only a more general contrast in content between the two songs, or even no obvious relationship at all between them. Although in some cases it is possible to tell which came first, the religious or the secular version, in others it is less clear in which direction the process operated.

Examples of this can be found particularly in Goliardic verse, which sometimes parodies the forms of hymns and the church services; for instance, the first line of the sixth-century Latin hymn for Prime, Iam lucis orto sidere, which celebrates control of both the emotions and the appetites (potus cibique parcitas, ‘restraint in food and drink’), is borrowed to introduce a twelfth-century drinking song:

Iam lucis orto sidere Deum precamur supplices ut in diurnis actibus Nos servet a nocentibus . . . Now at the dawning of the day To God as suppliants we pray That from our daily round he may All harmful beings keep away . . . becomes: Iam lucis orto sidere statim oportet bibere; Bibamus nunc egregie Et rebibamus hodie . . . Now at the dawning of the day We must start drinking straight away; Let’s drink now till the drink’s all gone, And have another later on . . .

This kind of contrafactum becomes commoner in the later Middle Ages; it is particularly associated, from the early thirteenth century onwards, with the work of the friars, who often supplied pious words to be sung to popular secular tunes (a device later to be taken over, for similar reasons, by the Salvation Army, on the principle ‘Why should the Devil have all the best tunes?’). St Francis described his followers as joculatores Dei, ‘God’s minstrels’. An example of this can be found in the Red Book of Ossory (Bishop’s Palace, Kilkenny), which includes 60 Latin lyrics in two hands of the late C14, accompanied by a note:

Attende, lector, qu[o]d Episcopus Ossoriensis fecit istas cantilenas pro vicariis Ecclesie Cathedralis sacerdotibus et clericis suis ad cantandum in magnis festis et solaciis, ne guttura eorum et ora Deo sanctificata polluantur cantilenis teatralibus, turpibus et secularibus, et cum sint cantatores prouideant sibi de notis conuenientibus secundum quod dictamina requirunt. Be advised, reader, that the Bishop of Ossory [the Franciscan friar Richard de Ledrede, d. 1360] has made these songs for the vicars of the cathedral church, for the priests, and for the clerks, to be sung on the important holidays and at celebrations in order that their throats and mouths, consecrated to God, may not be polluted by songs which are lewd, secular, and associated with revelry, and, since they are trained singers, let them provide themselves with suitable tunes according to what these sets of words require.

Twenty five of the Latin lyrics are on the Nativity or related themes, 11 on Easter and the Resurrection, one on the Annunciation, the rest on various devotional topics. Some of them are accompanied by introductory fragments of English or French verse, whose form (though not content) they seem to echo: e.g. the first line of the popular dance-song ‘Maiden on the moor’ (‘A maiden stayed on the moor for a full week and a day . . .’) prefaces a lyric on the Nativity:

LP’s addition: O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden was set to a love song, Innsbruck ich muss dich lassen; Good King Wenceslaus to the the spring carol Tempus adest floridum; What Child is This to a ballad about a woman of dubious virtue –Greensleeves; the Star Spangled Banner to a drinking song To Anacreon in Heaven [try hitting those high notes after 6 glasses of port]. Contemporary composers use it. “Come to Me,” also known as “Fantine’s Death,” is sung in the first act of ‘Les Miserables.’ “On My Own,” the contrafactum of “Come to Me,” is performed during the second act of the show. “Comme d’habitude“, music by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, original French lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibaut, was rewritten as “My Way” with English lyrics by Paul Anka. In Japan, the Scots song “Auld Lang Syne” has a new set of words in the song “Hotaru no hikari” (lit. “The light of the firefly”), and is used at graduation ceremonies [inscrutable]. There are of course many ad hoc parodies when students discover that O my darling Clementine has the same meter as Tantum ergo.)

Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her. Rejoice with gladness, you that have been in sorrow: That you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.

Heinrich Isaac

Heinrich Isaac (c. 1450 – 26 March 1517) was a Nederlandish composer of south Netherlandish origin. He wrote masses, motets, songs (in French, German and Italian), and instrumental music. A significant contemporary of Josquin des Prez, his influence was especially pronounced in Germany, due to the connection he maintained with the Hapsburg court. He was the first significant master of the Franco-Flemish polyphonic style who both lived in German-speaking areas, and whose music was widely distributed there. It was through him that the polyphonic style of the Netherlands became widely accepted in Germany, making possible the further development of contrapuntal music there. His best known composition is Innbruck, ich muss dich lassen, the melody of which was used for O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (O Sacred Head Surrounded)(see Digression on Contrafacta above.)

Isaac is held in high regard for his Choralis Constantinus. It is a huge anthology of over 450 chant-based polyphonic motets for the Proper of the Mass. It had its origins in a commission that Isaac received from the Cathedral in Konstanz, Germany in April 1508 to set many of the Propers unique to the local liturgy. Isaac was in Konstanz because Maximilian had called a meeting of the Reichstag (German Parliament of nobles) there and Isaac was on hand to provide music for the Imperial court chapel choir. After the deaths of both Maximilian and Isaac, Ludwig Senfl, who had been Isaac’s pupil as a member of the Imperial court choir, gathered all the Isaac settings of the Proper and placed them into liturgical order for the church year. But the anthology was not published until 1555, after Senfl’s death, by which time the reforms of the Council of Trent had made many of the texts obsolete. The motets remain some of the finest examples of chant-based Renaissance polyphony in existence. The motet Laetare Ierusalem is from this collection.

I sing the mighty power of God was written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748) for children, and was entitled “Praise for Creation and Providence.” In 1715 Watts published Divine and Moral Songs for Children, in the preface of which he wrote, “Children of high and low degree, of the Church of England or Dissenters, baptized in infancy or not, may all join together in these songs. And as I have endeavored to sink the language to the level of a child’s understanding . . . to profit all, if possible, and offend none.”

At the time of the Reformation, Martin Luther instructed his followers to sing hymns. However, John Calvin only allowed the singing of versified, or paraphrased, Scripture. By Watt’s time, the psalm singing had become dull and lifeless. When 19-year-old Isaac complained to his father about this, his father challenged him to write something better. Watts then proceeded to write hundreds of hymns.

I sing the mighty power of God,
That made the mountains rise;
That spread the flowing seas abroad,
And built the lofty skies.
I sing the Wisdom that ordained
The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at His command,
And all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the Lord,
That filled the earth with food;
He formed the creatures with His word,
And then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed,
Where’er I turn my eye:
If I survey the ground I tread,
Or gaze upon the sky!

There’s not a plant or flower below,
But makes Thy glories known;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow,
By order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee
Is ever in Thy care,
And everywhere that man can be,
Thou, God, art present there.

Lord of all hopefulness was written by Joyce Torrens-Graham (1901 -1953) in 1929 at the request of her friend, Canon Percy Dearmer of Westminster Abbey. She carefully fitted the words to the lovely Irish melody Slane, also used by Be thou my vision.

Joyce was the young­er of two child­ren born to Har­ry (Hen­ry) Tor­rens An­stru­ther, Mem­ber of Par­lia­ment and his wife (lat­er Dame) Eva An­stru­ther (née Han­bu­ry-Tra­cy). She spent her child­hood in Whit­church, and was ed­u­cat­ed pri­vate­ly in Lon­don. In class, she used to sit be­hind Eliz­a­beth Bowes-Ly­on (the fu­ture Queen Eliz­a­beth, the Queen Mo­ther) and would oc­ca­sion­al­ly dip the long tresse­s of “roy­al” hair in­to the ink-well. In lat­er life, when quizzed about this by an An­stru­ther fam­i­ly mem­ber, the ever-tact­ful Queen Mo­ther de­clared that she could re­call no­thing of it! Joyce is the author of Mrs. Miniver.

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares can destroy,
Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
Be there at our labors, and give us, we pray,
Your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

The hymn is sung to the melody “Slane”, first published as “With My Love on the Road” in Patrick Joyce’s Old Irish Folk Music and Songs in 1909.[The tune is a more elemental distillation of earlier forms, such as “The Hielan’s o’ Scotland’[ and “By the Banks of the Bann,” also compiled in Joyce (1909). The words of “Be Thou My Vision” were first combined with this tune in the Irish Church Hymnal in 1919.

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For the beauty of the earth was was written by the Anglican layman Folliott Sandford Pierpoint (1835-1911) as a communion hymn in the Anglican Church. The refrain alludes to the post-communion prayer in the Book of Common Prayer, which begins “O Lord and heavenly father, we thy humble servants entirely desire thy fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.” The last verses, with their references to the saints and Mary, were considered too Catholic and were omitted in Anglican hymnals, but we have restored the verse that refers to the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

The tune “Dix,” was written by Conrad Kocher (786-1872) was born in Ditzingen, Wurttemberg, Germany, where he was trained as a teacher. At the age of 17, Kocher left Germany to work as a tutor in St. Petersburg, Russia. Kocher’s love for Mozart and Haydn influenced him to pursue a career in music. In 1811, he moved back to Germany and settled in Stuttgart, where he would remain for most of his life. During the early years of his career, the prestigious Cotta Music Firm published some of his works, and eventually sent him to study music in Italy. After Kocher completed his studies in Italy, he returned to Stuttgart where he founded the School for Sacred Song, which encouraged the use of four part singing in the church. Kocher published two Operas, an Oratorio, and a few Sonatas. The best known version of “Dix” came from a shortening of Kocher’s “Treuer Heiland, wir sind hir,” found in Kocher’s Stimmen aus den Reiche Gottes (1838). The final arrangement was done by William H. Monk and was published in the 1861 version of Hymns Ancient and Modern, for which Monk was the music editor. (Evan Collins)

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Consider the Lilies is by Roger Hoffman, a contemporary LDS composer. He described the genesis of this piece:

At the time I wrote “Consider the Lilies,” my wife, Melanie and I had spent five years (now twenty-six) following the Lord’s commandment to put the kingdom of God first, believing that he would add everything else we needed. It seemed the Lord would send what we needed in the way of work or help, just when we needed it. Miraculously, we had survived! This allowed us to use our time to teach his Gospel through music. This kind providence had become such a regular occurrence for us that we wanted to tell others about it.

One day, as I was sitting at the piano in our chapel, (we didn’t have a piano at home) I found my fingers wandering over the piano keys. I noticed what I was playing and repeated it so I wouldn’t forget it. Once the melody had become locked into my consciousness, words began to form in my mind,

“Consider the lilies of the field,

how they grow, how they grow.”

I grabbed my pencil and began writing. As quickly as I could write, the words continued,

“Consider the birds in the sky,

How they fly, how they fly.

He clothes the lilies of the field.

He feeds the birds in the sky.

And he will feed those who trust him,

And guide them with His eye.”

I was beginning to feel very excited! Here was a way to share this marvelous principle!

The words kept coming,

“Consider the sheep of his fold,

How they follow where he leads.

Though the path may wind across the mountains,

He knows the meadows where they feed.”

I thought of how Nephi and Lehi had been led on their way through “the more fertile parts of the wilderness…” and how the seas had parted for Moses and the children of Israel. Again, the chorus re-assured me,

“He clothes the lilies of the field.

He feeds the birds in the sky,

And he will feed those who trust him,

And guide them with his eye.”

I was pleased that the message had been so well delivered, and gratefully acknowledged the power that had presented this song to my mind. I was about to rise from the piano bench and go home, when I felt a kind of downward tug, and sat down at the bench again. The message came clearly into my mind, “I’m not finished yet.”

I sat down and the verse began,

“Consider the sweet, tender children

Who must suffer on this earth…”

I panicked. I was afraid to tackle so large a subject. I thought, “My pen is too small to deal with a problem so great.” The thought came into my mind, “You’re not writing this, anyway.” I then remembered someone very dear to me who once said she had a hard time understanding why God would allow little children to be abused, and I had a great desire to help her understand this subject better and be comforted. This urged me on. So, tremulously, I continued,

The pains of all of them he carried

From the day of his birth.

He clothes the lilies of the field,

He feeds the lambs in His fold,

And he will heal those who trust him,

And make their hearts as gold.”

I wept profusely. I could not contain my feelings. The love I felt was so powerful that I was overcome. (Indeed, for the rest of the day, I felt somewhat removed from this mortal sphere.)

My soul vibrated with the message I had just written, for my own suffering and weakness had been taken in hand by the Wonderful Counselor, and where once there was darkness, light by light, strand by strand, he rewove the fabric of my heart with threads of purest gold, so that my affections and sympathies have been, in a marvelous manner, enlarged and re-trained to make me more like him.

This is the way of the Master. He tells us plainly that he has given us weakness to bring us to him. When we come unto him, he teaches, counsels, and heals us, replacing evil with good, pouring himself into us, a spiritual transfusion where his light replaces our darkness. The light he has put into us works its way through everything we know and feel and draws us to yet greater light.

One day, if we continue, we will be like him, for his light will have chased every trace of darkness from us, and will have drawn into us all the light he has.

Here is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. (Alert: anyone with a pre-diabetic condition should use caution when listening to this.)

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Johannes Brahms, c. 1853

The Opus 30 Geistliches Lied (Sacred Song) is Brahms’ (1833-1897) earliest accompanied choral work he composed it in 1856 – the same year in which he composed his Missa Canonica, he was all of twenty-three years old . It’s an accomplished piece of writing that combines a mastery of counterpoint with a sense of delicacy to remarkable effect. It consists of an organ accompaniment to four-part double canon in which the tenor follows the soprano, and the bass follows the alto. The first and third sections of the lied have been likened to the columns of a musical arch in that Brahms uses the same music to illustrate different verses of Paul Fleming‘s poem. For the ‘Amen’ which ends the piece Brahms reverses the canon with alto following the bass and the tenor follows the soprano.

This late mass presents Palestrina at the height of his creative powers. Scored for four voices, with the usual addition of an extra voice (in this case a second tenor) for the final movement, this brief, concise mass is characterized throughout by the simplicity and clarity of the vocal writing, as well as the fluency and charm of its melodic lines. The purity, delicacy, and balance of the part-writing have been likened to that of a string quartet.

Aeterna Christi munera is of the “paraphrase” type, meaning that a short phrase of plainsong (such as a hymn or an antiphon from the Catholic liturgy) provides the melodic basis on which the work is constructed. Motifs) are extracted from this melody and used as points of imitation throughout the mass. Moreover, the structure of the hymn verse (ABCA) is reflected in the structure of individual mass movements as well.

The shorter movements (Kyrie, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei) use imitation, where a melodic fragment is repeated by all the voices in succession, to develop the motifs borrowed from the paraphrased hymn-tune into a complex, florid counterpoint. A simpler homophonic texture prevails in the longer movements (Gloria, Credo), as was typical of Palestrina’s late works.

Palestrina also distances himself from his Franco-Flemish predecessors by his suave, flowing melodies, which contrast sharply with the more angular melodic contours favored by earlier composers. As well, the mass shows unending melodic inventiveness: themes are transformed and renewed from one movement to the next, providing the work with a sense of unity imbued with freshness. Palestrina makes good use of the sense of architectural balance acquired from the earlier composer Josquin, using repetition and reprise to structure the movements, for example, structuring the tripartite Kyrie with cadences in F, C, and F again.

The mass contains a few examples of the technique of word-painting. Particularly striking are his use of the low register to represent death at the words “Crucifixus” and “vivos et mortuos,” while a dance-like triple rhythm animates the “Et spiritum”; more subtly, Palestrina expands the second motif of the hymn-tune into a very expressive melody which recurs with every allusion to the Saviour. (Natalie Boisvert)

Firmly I believe and truly is adapted from John Henry Newman’s poem The Dream of Gerontius, a narrative poem written in 1865 about the progress of a soul from death to salvation.

As an Evangelical, Newman (1901-1890) rejected the doctrines of purgatory and the intercession of saints, but as part of his conversion (1845), he came to a realization, as he would call it, of the fullness of the communion of saints: those striving on earth, those being purified by the divine fire, and those in heaven moved by love to pray for those on earth and in purgatory. Gerontius (Greek Geron: old man), relates the journey of a pious man’s soul from his deathbed to his judgment before God and settling into Purgatory. As the priests and assistants pray the prayers for the dying Gerontius recites this creed and prays for mercy. “Sanctus Fortis, sanctus Deus” is from the Good Friday liturgy and is alluded to in the line “him the holy, him the strong.”

Firmly I believe and truly
God is Three and God is One;
and I next acknowledge duly
manhood taken by the Son.

General Gordon (1833-1885), troubled by fears of what happens after the end of life, had a copy of the poem sent to him in Egypt in 1884. He read it on his journey to his own death in Khartoum. This copy, with pencilled notes, was later given as a wedding present to Elgar. Elgar set it to music as an Oratorio, premiered in 1900. Its prominent Roman Catholic theology was objectionable to many Anglicans, and Elgar had to change the text to be have the oratorio performed in Church of England cathedrals.

The eternal gifts of Christ is an adaptation of a translation by John Mason Neale (1818-1866) of the Latin aeterna Christi munera by St. Ambrose (340-397).

The eternal gifts of Christ the King,
the apostles’ glory, let us sing,
and all, with hearts of gladness, raise
due hymns of thankful love and praise.

For they the Church’s princes are,
triumphant leaders in the war,
in heavenly courts a warrior band,
true lights to lighten every land.

Theirs is the steadfast faith of saints,
and hope that never yields nor faints;
and love of Christ in perfect glow
that lays the prince of this world low.

In them the Father’s glory shone,
in them the will of God the Son,
in them exults the Holy Ghost,
through them rejoice the heavenly host.

To thee, Redeemer, now we cry,
that thou wouldst join to them on high
thy servants, who this grace implore,
for ever and for evermore.

The plainchant melody is the melody upon which is based Palestrina’s Missa aeterna Christi munera, which is being sung today. Here is the Latin hymn which uses the melody.

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Closing Hymn

From all Thy saints in warfare is by Horatio Nelson (1823—1913), nephew of Admiral Horatio Nelson. He became 3rd Earl Nelson in 1835. In 1857 he and John Keble, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, compiled the Sarum Hymnal. This hymn was published in 1864. It honors the saints while carefully avoiding mention of any intercessory role.

From all Thy saints in warfare, for all Thy saints at rest,
To Thee, O blessèd Jesus, all praises be addressed;
Thou, Lord, didst win the battle, that they might conquerors be;
Their crowns of living glory are lit with rays from Thee.

Apostles, prophets, martyrs, and all the sacred throng,
Who wear the spotless raiment, who raise the ceaseless song,
For these, passed on before us, Savior, we Thee adore,
And, walking in their footsteps, would serve Thee more and more.

Praise for thy great apostle, the eager and the bold;
Thrice falling, yet repentant, thrice charged to keep Thy fold.
Lord, make Thy pastors faithful to guard their flocks from ill,
And grant them dauntless courage, with humble, earnest will.

Then praise we God the Father, and praise we God the Son,
And God the Holy Spirit, eternal Three in One;
Till all the ransomed number fall down before the throne,
And honor, power, and glory, ascribe to God alone.

The tune is KINGS LYNN, by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872—1958), an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English mnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many folk song arrangements set as hymn tunes, and also influenced several of his own original composition. He collected m this melody, “Van Dieman’s Land,” at King’s Lynn, Norfolk, on 9 Jan. 1905. Vaughan Williams seems to have been an agnostic, but he was an Anglican agnostic.

Tomás Luis de Victoria (sometimes Italianised as da Vittoria; c. 1548 – 27 August 1611) was the most famous composer in 16th-century Spain, and was one of the most important composers of the Catholic Reformation, along with Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso,Victoria was not only a composer, but also an accomplished organist and singer as well as a priest. However, he preferred the life of a composer to that of a performer.

Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary, who having truly suffered, was sacrificed on the cross for mankind, whose pierced side flowed with water and blood: May it be for us a foretaste [of the Heavenly banquet] in the trial of death. O sweet, O gentle, O Jesu, son of Mary, have mercy on me.

Josquin des Prés was the most famous European composer between Dufay and Palestrina, and is usually considered to be the central figure of the Franco-Flemish school. Josquin is widely considered by music scholars to be the first master of the Renaissance style of polyphony.

O for a heart to praise my God, by Charles Wesley (1707-1788). This hymn has the Wesleyan emphasis on the religion of the heart, which is transformed by the saving blood of Jesus. The hope for perfection is deeply Wesleyan. The Beatitudes likewise point the Christian to greater and greater perfection: Blessed are the pure of heart, blessed are the meek. Perfection is found in love, because we become sharers of the divine nature, and Jesus reveals the “new, best name” of God, Love.

1 O for a heart to praise my God, a heart from sin set free; a heart that’s sprinkled with the blood so freely shed for me:

2 A heart resigned, submissive, meek, my great Redeemer’s throne; where only Christ is heard to speak, where Jesus reigns alone:

3 A humble, lowly, contrite heart, believing, true, and clean, which neither life nor death can part from Him that dwells within:

4 A heart in every thought renewed, and full of love divine; perfect and right and pure and good — a copy, Lord, of Thine.

5 Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart, come quickly from above; write Thy new name upon my heart, Thy new best name of Love.

Protestants, following Luther, tended to think that man was simul justus et peccator, at the same time just and a sinner. Luther used the Ten Commandments in his catechesis, but he thought the purpose of the Law was to show us that we were unable to obey it, and that we had to receive the unearned forgiveness of God. (He did not tell children that they were unable to obey the Commandments!) But Wesley thought that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the heart, the emotions, the deep well of our being, could be “strangely warmed” and that we could therefore attain to sinless perfection in this life. Jesus in the Beatitudes calls us to a high perfection, and above that perfection are the gifts of the Holy Spirit which supernaturalize human nature and help us to attain to participation in the divine nature, to divinization (theosis).

Neil’s father, wheelwright Neill Dougall, was drafted into the ar­my, and died in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) when his son was only four years old. At age 15, Neil became an apprentice on the ship Britannia. In 1795, while he was loading a gun to fire the second volley of a salute to commemorate Lord Howe’s victory over the French, an explosion blinded him and took his arm. After recovering, he began his musical career. In 1798, he attended a singing class under Robert Duncan, and in the fall of the next year opened his own class, which he ran until 1844. He gave annual con­certs in Greenock. (Hymnary)

Sing praise to God who reigns above is a translation by Frances Elizabeth Cox (1812-1897) of Sei Lob und Ehr’ dem höchsten Gut by Johann Jacob Schütz (1640-1690). He became a Pietist, and the hymn has the warm, affectionate tone of German Pietism. The line “casts each false idol from its throne” recalls the first hymn’s prayer for “a heart” that is “my dear Redeemer’s throne.” The tune, Mit Freuden zart, is beloved of the American Moravians. The tune name itself – “with tender joy” – expresses something of the character of the life and music of the Moravians.

1 Sing praise to God who reigns above, The God of all creation, The God of power, the God of love, The God of our salvation; With healing balm my soul He fills, And every faithless murmur stills: To God all praise and glory!

2 What God’s almighty power hath made His gracious mercy keepeth; By morning glow or evening shade His watchful eye ne’er sleepeth: Within the kingdom of His might Lo, all is just, and all is right: To God all praise and glory!

3 The angel host, O King of kings, Thy praise forever telling, In earth and sky all living things Beneath Thy shadow dwelling, Adore the wisdom that could span, And power which formed creation’s plan; To God all praise and glory!

4 Thus all my gladsome way along I sing aloud Thy praises, That men may hear the grateful song My voice unwearied raises: Be joyful in the Lord, my heart: Both soul and body bear your part: To God all praise and glory!5 O ye who name Christ’s holy name,

Give God all praise and glory:

Give God all praise and glory:

All ye who own His power, proclaim

Aloud the wondrous story!

Cast each false idol from its throne,

The Lord is God, and He alone:

To God all praise and glory!

“Frances Elizabeth Cox, daughter of Mr. George V. Cox, born at Oxford, is well known as a successful translator of hymns from the German. Her translations were published as Sacred Hymns from the German, London, Pickering. The 1st edition, pub. 1841, contained 49 translations printed with the original text, together with biographical notes on the German authors. In the 2nd edition, 1864, Hymns from the German, London, Rivingtons, the translations were increased to 56, those of 1841 being revised, and with additional notes. The 56 translations were composed of 27 from the 1st ed. (22 being omitted) and 29 which were new. The best known of her translations are “Jesus lives! no longer [thy terrors] now” ; and ”Who are these like stars appearing ?” A few other translations and original hymns have been contributed by Miss Cox to the magazines; but they have not been gathered together into a volume.” (Hymnary)

“Johann Jacob Schütz was born Sept. 7, 1640, at Frankfurt am Main. After studying at Tübingen (where he became a licentiate in civil and canon law), he began to practice as an advocate in Frankfurt, and in later years with the title of Rath. He seems to have been a man of considerable legal learning as well as of deep piety. He was an intimate friend of P. J. Spener; and it was, in great measure, at his suggestion, that Spener began his famous Collegia Pietatis. After Spener left Frankfurt, in 1686, Schütz came under the influence of J. W. Petersen; and carrying out Petersen’s principles to their logical conclusion, he became a Separatist, and ceased to attend the Lutheran services or to communicate. He died at Frankfurt, May 22, 1690 (Koch, iv. 220; Blätter fur Hymnologie, Feb. 1883).” (Hymnary)

The tune MIT FREUDEN ZART has some similarities to the French chanson “Une pastourelle gentille” (published by Pierre Attaingnant in 1529) and to GENEVAN 138 (138). The tune was published in the Bohemian Brethren hymnal Kirchengesänge (1566) with Vetter’s text “Mit Freuden zart su dieser Fahrt.”

Anthem: Beati pauperes by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, The gospel includes the Beatitudes, so we are using Sweelinck’s setting of the Latin Beatitudes. Here is a performance.

Here is Wikipedia. I am most fond of Dutch names. Plemp is good, as is Swybbertszoon. I also like Dutch stability. Sweelinck started work at 15 and worked in the same church (where his grandfather and uncle had been organists) his whole life No gadding about for him, although once he went as far as Amsterdam. And on his death his son took over his job.

Sweelinck was born in Deventer, Netherlands, in April or May 1562. He was the eldest son of organist Peter (or Pieter) Swybbertszoon and Elske Jansdochter Sweeling, daughter of a surgeon. Soon after Sweelinck’s birth, the family moved to Amsterdam, where from about 1564, Pieter Swybbertszoon served as organist of the Oude Kerk (Sweelinck’s paternal grandfather and uncle also were organists). Jan Pieterszoon must have received first lessons in music from his father. Unfortunately, his father died in 1573. He subsequently received general education under Jacob Buyck, Catholic pastor of the Oude Kerk (these lessons stopped in 1578 after the Reformation of Amsterdam and the subsequent conversion to Calvinism; Buyck chose to leave the city). Little is known about his music education after the death of his father; his music teachers may have included Jan Willemszoon Lossy, a little-known countertenor and shawm player at Haarlem, and/or Cornelis Boskoop, Sweelinck’s father’s successor at the Oude Kerk. If Sweelinck indeed studied in Haarlem, he was probably influenced to some degree by the organists of St.-Bavokerk, Claas Albrechtszoon van Wieringen and Floris van Adrichem, both of whom improvised daily in the Bavokerk.

According to Cornelis Plemp, a pupil and friend of Sweelinck’s, he started his 44-year career as organist of the Oude Kerk in 1577, when he was 15. This date, however, is uncertain, because the church records from 1577 to 1580 are missing and Sweelinck can only be traced in Oude Kerk from 1580 onwards; he occupied the post for the rest of his life. Sweelinck’s widowed mother died in 1585, and Jan Pieterszoon took responsibility for his younger brother and sister. His salary of 100 florins was doubled the next year, presumably to help matters. In addition, he was offered an additional 100 guilders in the event that he married, which happened in 1590 when he married Claesgen Dircxdochter Puyner from Medemblik. He was also offered the choice between a further 100 guilders and free accommodations in a house belonging to the town, the latter of which he chose. Sweelinck’s first published works date from around 1592–94: three volumes of chansons, the last of which is the only remaining volume published in 1594[8] (for reasons that are not certain, the composer adopted his mother’s last name; “Sweelinck” first appears on the title-page of the 1594 publication). Sweelinck then set to publishing psalm settings, aiming to set the entire Psalter. These works appeared in four large volumes published in 1604, 1613, 1614 and 1621. The last volume was published posthumously and, presumably, in unfinished form. Sweelinck died of unknown causes on 16 October 1621[9] and was buried in the Oude Kerk. He was survived by his wife and five of their six children; the eldest of them, Dirck Janszoon, succeeded his father as organist of the Oude Kerk.

The composer most probably spent his entire life in Amsterdam, only occasionally visiting other cities in connection with his professional activities: he was asked to inspect organs, give opinions and advice on organ building and restoration, etc. These duties resulted in short visits to Delft, Dordrecht (1614), Enkhuizen, Haarlem (1594), Harderwijk (1608), Middelburg (1603), Nijmegen (1605), Rotterdam (1610), Rhenen (1616), as well as Deventer, his birthplace (1595, 1616). Sweelinck’s longest voyage was to Antwerpen in 1604, when he was commissioned by the Amsterdam authorities to buy a harpsichord for the city. No documentary evidence has turned up to support the tradition, going back to Mattheson, that Sweelinck visited Venice – perhaps a confusion with his brother, the painter Gerrit Pietersz Sweelink, who did – and similarly there is no evidence that he ever crossed the English Channel, although copies of his music did such as the pieces included in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. His popularity as a composer, performer and teacher increased steadily during his lifetime. Contemporaries nicknamed him Orpheus of Amsterdam and even the city authorities frequently brought important visitors to hear Sweelinck’s improvisations.

Anthem: Beati mundo corde by William Byrd. Byrd set this passage from the Beatitudes, Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. It is teh communion verse for the feast of All Saints. Here is the Hong Kong Hymn Society singing it.

A Rant on Political Correctness

One of the tentacles of the octopus Political Correctness that is strangling rational discourse is the desire to make the correct bien pensant leftist noises about any and every subject, even if the noises have nothing to do with the reality of the subject.

As my interests are Old English and Old Icelandic, I only occasionally encounter it, because one has to work hard at learning the languages and it is easier to be a leftist critic of modern literature. My first encounter with this idiocy was in an essay about Beowulf in which the critic claimed that Grendel was the illegitimate son of Hrothgar, who was an incestuous patriarchal brute. It was so crazy I thought it must be a spoof – it wasn’t. The second encounter was with a critic who wanted medievalists to imitate their leftist betters. He gave as an example of the right way to approach an Old English literature his analysis of poem Andreas, in which St. Matthew is captured by cannibals. There is somewhat of a negative attitude to cannibals in the poem, This, the critic opined, was an example of Western cultural imperialism which interfered with indigenous mores. He was not joking. And sure enough, some critics followed his advice: “Andreas, Self-Eaters, and the Failed Historicity of Post-Coloniality.”

Hymnology has been contaminated by this nonsense.

Johann Schutz has the couplet

In seinem ganzen Königreich / Ist alles recht und alles gleich.

Which Elizabeth Cox translated gracefully as

Within the kingdom of His might / Lo, all is just, and all is right.

You might think that the reference to the Kingdom of God is crystal clear. No, no. You are deceived.

The whole stanza was omitted from the revised United Methodist Hymnal:

The Hymnal Revision Committee did not include this stanza “because of the perceived ambiguity if not contradiction in lines five and six between God’s powerful establishment of his kingdom on earth and its attributes of justice and righteousness.”

Michael Hahn, a professor of sacred music, nods approvingly at this decision:

Cox’s translation of those critical lines five and six of the omitted third stanza may be derived from a very classist 19th-century British monarchy where the very structures of society were foreordained by God, and thus “all is just and all is right.” Within the Anglican Church, Calvinism was very influential and its fervent predestination would have also fueled such a view.

A 21st-century sensibility would see justice in terms of the needs of the hungry, the poor and the disadvantaged, and victims of racism, sexism and other issues—not in terms of predetermined societal structures.

Ah, the proper noises to demonstrate his leftist credentials. Four legs good, two legs bad. Or today is it the reverse?